Travelling Overland From Europe to India

Shiver me Timbers

Just a heads-up for anyone travelling to Iran soon, there are conflicting reports from the Iran Thorn Tree Branch on the visa situation since the post-election protests. Unfortunately, there are many reports of EU travellers having their applications rejected. I would say UK travellers will face the biggest problems getting an Iranian visa right now.

One very knowledgable Iranian poster there is prediciting that things won't get any easier in the coming months, as he expects Iran-EU relations to get worse.

Glowa

Moreover Iran closed borders with Pakistan so it leaves overland travellers with going throught Afghanistan etc to get to Pakistan and then to India.

I'm going to India overland too, but i'll be going trom Poland, the north way:

Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finalnd (southern), Russia (Sankt Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, Transsiberian from Perm to Irkutsk, Baikal Lake) Mongolia, China, Tibet, Nepal, India. I found this pretty interesting when i was told about situation on Iran/Pakistan border.

Shiver me Timbers

Another update:

I just got approved for my Iranian visa! I used the following agency - Touranzamin - which currently appears to be the most reliable amongst those companies which sponsor visas to Iran. Certainly a much easier process then when I applied 4 years ago through iranianvisa.com.

There are reports on the Thorn Tree that they are even getting visas for UK citizens!

Anyway, with the Iran/Pakistan border now open once again, it seems the path is clear for another overland trip to India - I hope to arrive in Amritsar just before Christmas. Can't wait!!!

MonkeyBoy4u

From all the posts so far, it seems like Paksitan is inevitable if I have to overland Europe from India. Is there any route which by passes Pakistan altogether or is Pakistan unavoidable ??

__________________
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

~ Robert Frost

camelgirl

You can avoid Pakistan if you are willing to take a longer route through northern Europe, Russia (the "stans" ie, Kazakistan, etc.), China, Tibet, Nepal, India.

__________________
My selected India photos http://www.indiamike.com/photopost/s...r/7030/cat/500

freenote

.....

__________________
eyes ,eyes that have seen all , come back to the white chrysanthemum (Basho)

MonkeyBoy4u

Hmmm... I should have seen the above polst by Glowa.

I wonder why many people dont do the longer route, that way they can avoid the trouble areas

machadinha

I think the route through Tibet isn't currently all that straightforward either, due to travel restrictions there.

__________________
Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

Shiver me Timbers

One of the main reasons is due to the hassle of getting visas for Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. As far as I know, Kyrgyzstan is the only country in the region that has a relatively painless visa process. While getting one 'difficult' visa on a trip is usually worthwhile, getting 3 or 4 is an expensive headache that many people choose to avoid.

Moreover, the straightforward, southern route really doesn't present any major trouble spots. Pakistan's conflict zones are easily avoided. Banditry in Baluchistan (on both sides of the border) is the main danger, but this is something that hasn't changed for decades, and so far hasn't stopped a steady trail of travelers on their way to India.

dutchswede

Hello, this is my first post on this nice forum and I don't know where to start really...
...but to keep a long story short I have just decided to travel overland from my resident country Sweden to India and Nepal. I have done some travelling before and my philosophy has always been "stop worrying, just go", but this time I feel really stuck even before I've left my computer! My main concerns:

Route:

The old "hippie trail" route, save Afghanistan. Turkey-Iran-Pakistan-Northern India. Lots of information on this, not much to discuss really.

OR

Russia-Kazakhstan-China-Pakistan-India. This would be the more expensive route, regarding transportation and visas.

I find both routes appealing, but it's hard to tell which one is the best. How much do they differ in terms of costs and time?

Time: I know it's not much fun to rush, but staying 1 month in every country on the way to India like suggested is too much. Something in between maybe? I think two weeks would be enough if travelling the southern route through Iran. Then I could at least see the most important sights.

But my main question is, when arriving to your destination after a long overland trip, wouldn't the travel itself have made one's mind to exhausted and blured to continue on for several months maybe, in such a diverse country as India?

Hope you don't mind my long post, and thanks in advance.

Shiver me Timbers

I guess that depends on yourself. It may be the case if you rush through from Europe very quickly. I would say 2 weeks from Sweden to India is not a good idea. Give yourself a full month, and try this:

3-4 days to get to Istanbul from Sweden, by bus or train.

10 days in Turkey, spending a few days each in Istanbul and Cappadocia, and spending a few more days heading east, stopping at one or two places around Lake Van.

10 days in Iran, spending a few days each in Esfahan, Yazd and Shiraz, plus some days for travel on to Pakistan, and perhaps a day in Tehran.

4-6 days in Pakistan, basically getting to Quetta, resting there for a night or two after the long bus journey, then an overnight train to Lahore, spending another couple of days there before crossing the border to Amritsar.

Personally I would find the above itinerary too rushed, but a lot of people do it or similar trips, and have a great time.

I would guess the northern route could be done in a similar time-frame. Not having done it myself, I can't give much info on costs, only that I've heard travel in Russia is quite expensive. I looked into it a couple of years ago, and the transport costs, particularly the long train journey across Kazakhstan, really added up.

Unless you plan on going to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan as well, I would say the southern route has a lot more to offer in terms of sights, activities, etc.

camelgirl

No, just the opposite. After my one month Overland trip, I felt I could have stayed for many more months after I got there. Unfortunately for me, I had a job promised me at home if I got back at a certain time, so I only had 2 more months once I got to India.

I think he meant 2 weeks in each country. I read the post 3 times because I thought he jumped from 1 month in each country to 2 weeks for the whole trip! But I'm also not sure why he said 1 month in each country. Apparently, someone posted that.

Anyhoo, I think you gave him a good suggestion. I also never did the Russia, etc. route, so have nothing to offer on that.

Shiver me Timbers

Yep that makes a lot more sense!

Dutchswede, I guess you can disregard my previous post, 2 weeks in each country would certainly be fine. And I really wouldn't worry about being exhausted or anything like that. The fact is that of those countries - Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and India - India is probably the most hassle and stressful to travel around.

Shiver me Timbers

Just found this interesting link:

Quetta Overland

dutchswede

Firstly, thank you very much to the both of you and I'm sorry if my post was a bit confusing!

Yes, someone indeed wrote that you could easily spend one month in every country on the way to India, and while i don't doubt that, it seems a little too much for me, so two weeks in every country would probably suffice.

And I'm relieved to hear the journey to India in itself didn't wear you out!
Maybe the key to prevent this (travel-weariness) is to go slow and not rush?

Finally, a small question about the budget for the trip. Does an average daily budget of 25 eur sound realistic to you? This is for doing the southern route in about 6 weeks.

Thanks again, I'm really glad to have found this forum